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Panel talks violence prevention By JEFF ENGELHARDT
jengelhardt@shawmedia.com DEKALB – Roughly 50 people gathered at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of DeKalb on Friday to engage in a discussion about how to promote peace and prevent violence through education, policy and programs. The event, titled Learning to Leave Peaceably in Violent Times, featured a panel including DeKalb County State’s Attorney Richard Schmack; Maylan Dunn-Kenney, an ear-
Gene Lowery
Richard Schmack
ly childhood education professor from Northern Illinois University; Toni Tollerud, a professor of counseling at NIU; and DeKalb Police Chief Gene Lowery. Schmack started the dis-
cussion by saying the focus should not only be on the tragedies of gun violence but also the victories in reducing violence. He cited statistics showing many violent crimes are at the lowest level since the 1960s, including homicide rates involving firearms, which is down to 3.3 percent. “It isn’t all bad news and that’s important to remember in this discussion,” he said. “What we have to look at, I think, to some degree … is what are we doing right and how do we expand on that.”
House to vote on debt limit
Dunn-Kenney talked about breaking the cycle of violence in families and reaching children early. She said breaking the cycle starts with empathy, promoting fairness and kindness, teaching conflict resolution and never acting as if violence does not exist. “Children who observe [violence] and experience it see it as the norm,” she said. “When you encourage empathy, you’re discouraging violence right there.” Tollerud distributed a violence continuum worksheet
that outlined how violence starts much earlier than most people realize. She said actions such as eye rolling and gossiping are the seeds that grow more violent behavior. To stop that behavior early, she said parents, teachers and leaders must be the role models. “We must learn to intervene sooner,” she said. “As children begin to learn inappropriate behavior, they usually don’t begin by grabbing a knife and stabbing someone.” Lowery said it is time for
people to change their perception of police. Police officers cannot make violence vanish from a community, but they can stop violent situations that have started. To make sure those situations do not begin, he said the police and residents must become a “we” and work together. “We can sit here and have a dialogue, but if that dialogue goes nowhere … nothing is going to change,” he said.
See PANEL, page A7
SmOKE-FREE ILLINOIS mILESTONE
By ANDREW TAYLOR The Associated Press
WASHINGTON – House Republican leaders Friday offered President Barack Obama a three-month reprieve to a looming, market-rattling debt crisis, backing off demands that any immediate extension of the government’s borrowing authority be accompanied by stiff spending cuts. The retreat came with a caveat aimed at prodding Senate Democrats to pass a budget after almost four years of failing to do so: a threat to cut off the pay of lawmakers in Barack either House or Obama Senate if their chamber fails to pass a budget this year. House Republicans have passed budgets for two consecutive years. Eric The idea got Cantor a frosty reception from House Democrats but a more measured response from the White House and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. Republicans hadn’t settled on full details, but the measure would give the government about three more months of borrowing authority beyond a deadline expected to hit as early as mid-February, No. 2 House Republican Eric Cantor of Virginia said Friday. The legislation wouldn’t require immediate spending
Up in smoke
After 5 years, businesses see positive changes By JEFF ENGELHARDT
jengelhardt@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Two months after Danny Carney took over Joker’s Bar and Grill in Sycamore, business declined by 30 percent. It had nothing to do with the new owner’s strategy, but everything to do with a new state law that prohibited smoking in bars, restaurants, theaters, casinos and almost all other enclosed public places. The sudden drop in business was very scary, Carney said. “The bad economy was just about to hit, and the combination of the two was real tough,” he said. Five years after the passing of the SmokeFree Illinois Act, business is better than ever at Joker’s, and Carney could not be happier with the change. He said customers who otherwise would have avoided bars have come along with
See VOTE, page A7
Photos by Rob Winner – rwinner@shawmedia.com
A no smoking sign is seen on a door in downtown DeKalb recently. TOP: Patrons smoke cigarettes outside of Sullivan’s Tavern in DeKalb.
the smokers who left temporarily when the law was passed. He said many of those smokers even prefer the clean atmosphere.
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“People really enjoy the smoke-free environment, even the smokers,” he said. “I love being able to come in and not smell like an ashtray when I leave.” The positive changes the law has had on businesses and citizens come as no surprise to DeKalb Mayor Kris Povlsen, who championed the policy locally as an alderman. DeKalb implemented the smoking ban six months before the state law because of efforts from Povlsen and other aldermen. He said there was some resistance at the time, but the numbers and feedback from bar and restaurant owners show the ban has been a blessing. Statewide, the number of adult smokers dropped from 21.2 percent in 2008 to 16.9 percent in 2012. Locally, Povlsen said many business owners have enjoyed the change.
See SmOKE-FREE, page A7
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